Means for binding packing boxes



IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY May 2o, 1924. t

l .s. c. CARY MEANS FOR BINDLNG PCKING BOXES May 2o, 1924. 1,494,587

S.- C. CARY' MEANS FOR BINDING PACKING BOXES Filed Dec. '5, 1918 :ssheets-sneer 2 INVENTOR.

BY i tdt ATTORNEYv i Mayfl, 1924. 1,494,587 j v AS. C. CARY MEANS FORBINDING PACKING BOXES Filed Dec; 5, 1918 li5 Sheets-Sheet Patented May20, 1924.

mais@ STATES yPATENT OFFICE.

SPENCER C. CARY, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CARY MANUFACTURING-COlVIPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MEANS FOR BINDING PACKING BOXES.

Application filed December 3, 1918. Serial No. 265,084.

To all cli/71.0772, it may concern:

Be it known that LSrnNcnn C. CARY, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kingsand State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Means forBinding Packing Boxes, of which the following' is a speciiication.

This invention is a device for use in binding shipping packages, usuallywooden boxes, the object in view being to facilitate thc operation ofplacing a binder around the packing box, and, more particularly, toposition said binder in an `accurate relation to the end portion of saidbox.

The art of binding wooden packing boxes has progressed to the pointwhere it is customary for medium sized packages to have the binderapplied backwardly about two inches or more from'the end ofthe'case. Thebinder is drawn toplace tension thereon by the aid of a stretching tool,the latter acting to draw the binder so tightly into contact with thecase as to in effect, compress, more or less, the wooden slats of thecase, such application of the binder compensating to a material degreefor the natural shrinkage of the' wood. Manifestly, the quick adjustmentof a binder around the box will result in the binder being more or lessirregularly positioned thereon when applied 'backwardly from the end ofthe box, so that the binder is not spaced throughout its lengthuniformly from the endy face of the box, but, on the contrary the binderextends irregularly so as to be further fromy the end on one side andcloser to the end on the other side of the box, as a result of which thebinder cannot be evenly stretched by a tightener and the bound boxpresents a slovenly appearance even' though the binder may be appliedyby a skilled workman. l

The use of my invention obviates the foregoing and other diihcultiesinherent in the hand application of binders where no appliances areavailable or used.

One problem connected with the binding of wooden packing boxes is thecontrol of the coil of strapping orwire necessarily used in theoperation of binding. The flat metal strap is usually supplied to thetrade in a coil which is suspended so it canbe drawn olf freely in therequired length, whereas the wire used is also in a bundle or coil woundmore or less irregularly. Owing to the flexibility of the strap or wire,it becomes slack and beyond control particularly at the' free end sothat the bundle or coil will of itself unwind to a great extent so as tobecome entangled, resulting in waste of the material and loss of time inhandling it. According to this invention, means are employed formounting the binding' material in a particular relation to the positionoccupied by the packing box during the application of the binderthereto, means are provided, also, for retaining the box in the desiredposition, and, further, means are provided for restraining the binder,(either strapping or wire) from unwinding at the leading end thereof,all of which means contribute to a marked extent in the operation ofuniformly and quickly positioning a binder upon the box so it will bespaced regularly from the end of such box.

Instead of drawing the binder from a coil of strapping or wire, I mayuse the binder in cut lengths particularly in establishments where it isrequired to bind a large number of boxes uniform in size. To this end Iuse a box-supporting member, a gage to determine the position of the boxupon said lmember, and a channeled member attached to the box-supportingmember and operating as a means` for locating a binder in a definite.relation to the box, said channeled member being adapted for receivinga binder of a desired length and said channeled member having ashiftable stop for determining tlie position of the binder.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thedetailed description taken in connection with the drawings wherein-`Fig. l is a front elevationof a device for binding packagesv embodyingthis invention and showing more particularly means for mounting a reelofv fiat metal strapping in cooperative relation to certainwork-locating' devices'.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section in the plane of the dotted line 2 2 of Fig.l looking in the direction of the arrow.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the 'box-supporting member showingon an enlarged scale the shiftable element of the work-locating device.4

' Fig. 4 is a verticaly section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

lio

Fig. 5 is an elevation partly in section illustrating another embodimentof the invention wherein provision is made for mounting a. reel of wireand for straightening the wire as it is supplied to the package to bebound.

Fig. 6 is a cross section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5 illustratingone formof the wire directing means.

Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are views in plan, elevation and detail sectionV ofanother embodiment of the invention wherein provision is made for theuse of binders cut to lengths and the parts of which device are sorelated to each other as to locate the box and the binder in deiinitepositions so as to apply the binder a determined distance backwardlyvfrom the end of the box and spaced uniformly and regularly from saidend.

The box-supporting member is shown in the drawings as a table Asupported at a suitable height by legs a. In a constructional formshown, the table is provided with depending sides a adapted to form anenclosure or boxing within which the legs arepacked for shipment orstorage. lThe sides are reinforced by corner irons or straps a2 whichprovide bearings for the holding screwsv a3 adapted to enter the legsfor the t purpose of holding them fixedly in position in order tosupport the table at al desired height.

A reel of iat coiled strapping is wound upon a spool a, and this reel ismounted adjacent to the box-supporting member so as to occupy a deiiniterelation to a projecting end portion of the box to be bound. As onemeans for mounting the reel I provide a bracket B consisting of anupright portion o and a horizontal arm ZJ', the latter being providedwith a vertically ranging slot c shown in dotted lines Fig. l and infull lines inFig. 2. Thevertical'portion of the bracket is fastened bybolts c to a fixture C which is secured firmly by bolts ci' to an endportion of the table, see Fig. 2. y

l) is an arbor on which is loosely mounteda spool of the coiledstrapping. arbor is provided intermediatev its ends with a collar (l,the respective end portions of the arbor being` externally threaded, seeFig. Q. An end portion of the arbor passes through the vertical slot cof the bracket and on one end of this arbor is a binding` nut CZ, thelatter operating to clamp the. shouldered portion CZ of the arborfixedly to the arm b of the bracket, whereby the nut may be unscrewedfor the purpose of raising or lowering the arbor within the slot 0 andthus provide for a vertical adjustment Vof the reel of coiled strappingin order toy bring said strapping into proper relation to the top of lthe box which is to be bound with the strapping.

The spool of the coiled strapping is itted Said loosely on the arbor torotate freely thereon so that the operator can draw the strappingfronrthe reel as it is required to be paid out in order to position thestrapping around the box indicated at Y. To restrain the coil fromunwindingV too freely, it is desirable, or in fact necessary to placetension upon the reel, Y and inthe constructional form illust-rated inFigs. 1 and 2 I employ a gripping mechanism positioned for contact withthe edge portions of the strapping on the respective sides of the reel.VThe gripping device embodies two members E E which are perforatedsubstantially'centrally thereof in order to fit loosely upon the arbor,whereby said members are mounted upon said arbor in position forfrictional engagement with the edge portions of the coiled strapping.The member E is fitted on the arbor for contact with the shoulder Zthereof, and at the lower portion of said member E it is provided with alug e extending outwardly from the member, said lug being provided withan aperture in which is loosely fitted the lower portion of thecompanion member E', (see Fig. 2). @n the threaded end of the arbor isscrewed a nut e which is adapted to be tightened in order to force themember E into contact with the shoulder CZ, thereby gripping the coil Xbetween the cooperating members E E. @ne of the members, as E',isprovided'with a handgrip e2 for shifting the position ofthe grippingdevice relatively to the reel, but, if desired, means may be providedfor retaining the gripping device in the vertical position shown,although l have not considered it necessary to illustrate said retaining.means for the reason that it is obvious to those skilled in the art.

For the expeditious application of the strapping to the rbox Y it isdesirable that the box be positioned upon the table A for an endportionof said box to project a predetermined distance beyond the planeof the margin of the rtable and the reel of binding material. Of course,the boxes may vary in size, but in largeY establishments itis customaryto employ boxes of certain predetermined size in which Y the merchandiseis packed. To locate the box in a definite relation to the reel, as wellas to provide for the adaptation of my invention to boxes of differentsizes, I employ work-locating means illustrated more particularly inFigs. 2, 3 and et of the drawings. The table A is provided with alongitudinal groove f and with a longitudinal recess f', the width ofsaid recess being less than the width. of the groove. lVithin thegrooves f is positioned a channeled guide member F, the margins of whichare'substantially flush withY the table, said channeled guide beingfixedly retained in position by suitable means such as screws f2. Thebottom of the channeled guide and an aperture of the `sliiftable gage,`and the upper threaded end of said bolt is provided with a clamping nutla. whereby the bolt and nut cooperate in clamping the shiftable gage tothe desired position on the channeled guide.

rllhe operation may 'be described as follows The reel of coiledstrapping is placed within the gripping means, for whichr purpose thenut c is unscrewed from the arbor and the member E is 'disconnected fromsaid. arbor and from the fiange c of the member E, after which the spoola2 osf the reel is slipped over the arbor, the member Fi is replaced andthe nut e is screwed on the arbor so as to draw the members E FK intofrictional engagement with the edges of the reel and with the collar dof the arbor. The reel may be raised or lowered by partly unscrewing,the nut cl and shifting the arbor in the slot c of the bracket, afterwhich the nut al is again tightened so as to clamp the arbor ixedly inposition. It is to. benoted that the i means for clamping the arboradjustably to the bracket are independentof the means for gripping themembers E E into contact with the edgesof the reel, although a singlearbor is used as the meansfor attaching thereel to the bracket and asthe means for mounting the gripping members and the reel so as to applythe required tension to said reel. Abox Y is positioned upon the tablevfor anend portion of said box to extend beyond the` margin of thetable, as sho-wn in dotted lines `in Fig. 2.

In applying the strapping to the box the leading end of the strap iskdrawn from the reel and passed around the box, as shown in Fig. 1, theend portion ofthe strap and an intermediate portion ofsaid strap beingengaged with certain grippers of a stretching device indicated generallyby the reference character T in Fig. 1. The strapping having beenengaged with the stretcher the operator should cut the strapping at apoint between the grippers of the stretcher, and thereafter thestretcher is operated so as to impart relative movement to the grippers,thereby drawing the band tightly around the box, after which the endportions of the band are fastened together, preferably by the aid of asealing device.

It should be stated that the box is positioned upon the table throughthe agency portion depends `from the table.

of the gage G, the latter being moved in the channeled plate so as toaccurately locate the successive boxes with respect to the reel and thetable. Y

The mechanism herein disclosed provides for the accurate application ofthe strapping `material upon kboxes of uniform size, for the reason thatthe gage cooperates with the table in locating the successive boxes, andthe reel provides a convenient source of supply of the binding materialin suoli relation to the boxesthat the operator is not required toexercise skill or care in placing the strapping material around theboxes, it being noted that the strapping is so positioned upon each boxthat all portions of the strapping are at the same distance from thatend portion of the box which projects beyond the table. After applyingand securing a. band near one end portion of a box, said box is reversedupon the table, and a second band is applied to the same box near theoppositie end portion thereof.

As heretofore described, the invention lembodies means for handlingcoiled strapping, but my invention may be embodied in means for applyingwire as the binding material to the boxes. The box-supportgage, asheretofore described, but in lieu of the bracket B, the arbor and thegripping means heretofore described, Iy 'employ the following devices:

Attached fixedly to .a side portion of the table is a member I oneportion of which extends above the table, and another The dependingportion of the member is provided with ra foot z' which carries avertical post J. Said post is provided at its upper portion with abearing 7' for the axle a of a reel of wire X. Said post is providedwith a longitudinal slot j in which is slidably fitted asaddle L, thelatter being adapted for frictional contact withl a peripheral portionof the wire reel. The saddle is lifted within the slot of the post by aspring Z sov that the saddle is normally in contact with the reel andacts as a brake to preclude such rapid -or free rotation ofthe reel aswill tend to uncoil the wire therefrom. The wire passes upwardly fromthe reel to andy aroundy a direction sheave m which is loosely mountedinV the horizontal portion M of the member I. The wire drawn from a reelis not in a straight condition and it is desirable to straighten thewire as it passes from the reel to the box. Accordingly, I may useeither or both of the wire-straightening devices'illustrated in Fig. 5.One of said devices is a tube O supported on the horizontal portion M ofthe member I, said tube being adjacent the` direction shea-ve m and ishorizontally positioned intermediate the sheave and the box. Another ofthe wire-straightening devices consists oi rollers P loosely journaledon the member I or its horizontal portion M, said rollers beingstaggered relatively to each other so that the wire will pass betweenand in contactl with the rollers in a manner to straighten said wire asit is drawn from lthe reel and prior to its application to the Althoughl have shown and described myk invention as adapted for utilizingbinders, either in iiat strap or wire form, by drawing the same from areel orcoil, yet it is to be understood that the principle of theinvention may be utilized in connection with binders cut to a determinedlength, and in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 there are illustrated one practical.embodiment 0f this part of the invention.

The box supporting member is a Vtable A provided as heretofore describedwith a box locating means in the form ot' a channeled and slotted guidemember F set flush with the top surface of the table and a shiitablegage (ir slida'blv fitted to the member F so as tobe held in fixedApositions thereon by the binding screw, all as shown more clearly inFigs. 3 and 4.

In lieu of meansfor supporting` a coil or reel in definite relation tothe table. thisl part ot my invention embodies means for locating abinder, cut to length, in a definite relation to the box to be bound.Accordingly, I employ a channeled rail Q attached to the table so as tolie substantially Yflush therewith, said rail being positioned crosswiseof 'the guide member F. The rail consists oi suitable material,preferably metal, provided with a. channel or groove g in the topsurface thereof, said rail being ot a length to receive and contain thecut ibinder to be applied to the package. As shown` the rail is attachedto the table at or near the end ot' the latter, the opposite ends ofsaid rail Q extending beyond the respective sides of the table. A stop Ris attached to the channeled rail to afford an abutment. tor the end otthe binder when it is placed in'said channel, and this stop isshi'ttable lengthwise oit the rail, being` held in one ol a desirednumber of positions by a binding `crew r.

ln using this part of the invention, a binder, composed of flatstrapping or wire,

vember, 191,8.

of the rail and the binder therein, the

binder abutting` the gage li and the box resting against the gage Fwhereby the box and the binder are located in definite relation to eachother. The binder is bent or folded around the box, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 8, the end portions ot' said binder are engaged by thestretching device, the latter is operated to place tension upon saidbinder, Vand the binder is secured or sealed.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I cla-im as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is l. A package binding apparatusembodyingV a work-supporting member, anda pluralityof work-locatingdevices supported by said member, one of said'devices being operable fordetermining the position ot a package and the other being operable forlocating a binding material in a definite relation to lthe package, saidbinder-locating device being positioned crosswise of the Y packagelocating` device.

2. A package binding apparatus embody- Ving a work-supporting` member, apackagelocating gage mounted on said member,l and a binder-locatingmember also mounted on the member and pos1t1oned crosswise o'f theDa'ckaO'e-locatinfr ffave for locatino` the bind-V D P7 C? t7 D ingmaterial in a definite relation to the position of the package, saidVpackage-locating gage being shiitable lat will toward or from ythebinder-locating member.

3.V A package binding apparatus embody- `ing a woik-supporting member,a: packagelocating gage mounted on said member, and a binder-locatingmember also mounted )n the member and positioned crossw1se et' thepackage-locating gage for locating the bindingmaterialin a definiterelation to the po- Y sition Vof the package, said binder-locatingmember comprising a channeled rail and a gage shift-able on thechanneled rail toward or from the direction ot movement oi thepackage-locating gage.

In testimony whereof I Vhave hereunto subscribed my name this 30th dayof No- SPENCER C. CARY.

